Cover Photo: Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay Emmy winning Carolyn Hennesy’s long list of credits include major roles on TRUE BLOOD, REVENGE, COUGAR TOWN, GENERAL HOSPITAL, Disney Channel’s JESSIE, NCIS, ADAM RUINS EVERYTHING, A SNOW WHITE CHRISTMAS and she may currently be seen in Darren Bousman’s horror feature, “St. Agatha.” She Read more…
Aggression is a natural and common behaviour in animals. There are many reasons why animals demonstrate aggressive behaviour to conspecifics or even towards us. When should we take action as caretakers and what is the reason the aggressor shows aggressive behaviour towards the other members of the group, other species or Read more…
Cover Photo: Kirstin Anderson Hanson – Shape training with Cormorants Website: www.sdu.dk Training animals to understand shapes can be a very useful behaviour. We can make our training sessions more fun and interesting for our animals as well as the training becomes more enriching when we work with shapes and Read more…
As animal caregivers we want the best for our animals, but sometimes there are situations where we have to put an animal in an environment or situation that they may perceive as negative or stressful. In these situations animal care trumps animal training. Retroactive Management Zookeeping is all about observation. Read more…
Conscious or Unconscious Reinforcement, Anticipation or Stereotyping Animal training is all about responding to behaviour but what if the behaviour that occurs is repetitive? With repetitive behaviour it is useful to try and identify if the behaviour is a result of conscious or unconscious reinforcement, anticipation or stereotyping. Stereotypical behaviours are Read more…
As animal trainers we continually communicate with our animals, through verbal and nonverbal communication. The things we say, our tone, gestures, body language, and facial expressions all play an important part in how we communicate. We want to empower our animals by using positive reinforcement strategies and we teach them Read more…
We here at Zoospensefull talk a lot around the importance of observation in animal training. Observing our animals can have many benefits and for us is something we enjoy. The amount you learn through looking at your animals, especially when they are not aware of your presence, can often paint Read more…
Cover Photo: Libby Eyre – Sydney Aquarium, Australia Some sort of relationship is needed for you to succeed as a trainer. Building a positive relationship with an animal can be difficult and take considerable amounts of time and effort. Depending on the animal will depend on the amount of effort Read more…
To be an effective trainer there are many steps we recommend you follow. To be successful and reach your goals we at Zoospensefull encourage you to plan your sessions. If training by yourself, a clear understanding of the steps or approximations you will be taking to reach your desired goal Read more…
Training animals comes with a lot of challenges. Most of these make us better trainers, but there is one in particular which could put you into potentially dangerous situations, and that is complacency. We use reinforcement strategies to build strong relationships through positive experiences. Training becomes fun and we want Read more…
